Killing Anti-US Dissenters

For anyone who doubts that Iraq is predominantly a media propaganda war (being won very successfully within the USA, if not internationally) Mike Whitney at Counterpunch explodes a few misconceptions:

"It was a 'gangland-style hit' intended to put fear in the hearts of the Al Arabiyya reporters who would soon be covering the siege of Falluja. There's no doubt that anyone misunderstood the message that was being conveyed. The Allawi government has repeatedly scolded reporters for stories that have been critical of the occupation; threatening to punish or exile those who continue to offend. In the case of Al Aribiyya, this was just the first shot fired over the bow. Two weeks later their reporter was arrested in Falluja and hasn't been seen since.

Three months earlier, Al Jazeera was exiled from Iraq because its coverage did not follow a narrative that was acceptable to occupation authorities. Al Jazeera had already been bombed twice by US forces in both Baghdad and Kabul, so they knew the risks of providing a view of the conflict that was at variance to the one being seen on American TVs. Free speech is as unwelcome in today's Iraq as it was under Saddam, and its consequences are just as dire...

Last week two Sunni Clerics, members of the AMS, (Association of Muslim Clerics) were gunned down as they left their homes.(in separate incidents) The story has been successfully buried in western newspapers and it hasn't drawn much attention. In Iraq, however, the message is clear; anyone who speaks out against the occupation or the upcoming elections will be killed. The US is now using Mafia-style hit-teams to establish order and quash dissent.

... The real story of Falluja is nowhere to be found in American media. 300,000 people were expelled from the city so that the military could exact its revenge against the killers of four mercenaries. By all accounts, the city is in ruins; bodies left on the streets are bloated and some are being devoured by dogs. Those who chose to stay (many because they were invalid or afraid that their homes would be looted) were left for two weeks without food, water or electricity. Even now, the relief efforts of the Red Crescent have been stymied by the Marines; leaving many of the wounded without medical attention. Half of the city's mosques have been damaged or destroyed; roads and infrastructure have been laid to waste, and upwards of 2,000 people have been killed. This is the real picture of Falluja; a picture that is scrupulously omitted from any mainstream newspaper or TV station in the country.

Everything down to the labeling of the siege ("The Battle for Falluja") has been focus-group tested and picked up by all the main stations. In fact, there was no "Battle for Falluja"; it was a brutal siege in the same tradition as Germany's assault on Stalingrad.